


Already Home

by jillolantern



Series: Carry On [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 21:59:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4409366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jillolantern/pseuds/jillolantern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 4 of the "Carry On" series. Jesse’s parents pay a visit to Domino City to see him, but Jaden wasn’t prepared for how his parents would react to his relationship with Jesse. The tension may force Jesse to decide between two things that make him happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jaden POV

The soft silk rubbed against my face. My eyes slowly opened and the light seeping through the curtains was finding its way into my pupils. In pain, I turned away from the light hiding my face amongst the sheets. Its warmth, surrounding my body, kept me on the bed. I didn’t want to get up; I just wanted to go back to sleep. But someone else didn’t have those same thoughts.

“Jaden, get up!” A certain blue haired beauty pounced on the bed and pulled the covers off of me, exposing me to the cold air of the room. I groaned in discontent. Jesse was a morning person which made me lose out on my beloved beauty sleep.

“Come on, Jess, just a few more minutes!” I fumbled around for the blankets and when I found them, I pulled them over my shoulders and held on tight.

“No, Jaden, look at the time. We’re already running late.” I did as he said and looked to the clock on the side table.

9:32.

“So what? Aren’t they coming at noon?” I pulled the covers over my eyes thinking Jesse would leave me alone. Maybe if I ignored that he was there, he would go away and let me sleep some more.

“Yes, but, there’s no reason we can’t get up early,” I felt him lay down in front of me, only the blanket between us. “Come on, Jaden. You haven’t met my parents before and I want to make sure you make a good impression so that when I tell them about us they react well.”

Wait. I pulled the covers off me and looked at Jesse. “You haven't told your parents about our relationship? We’ve been together five years. What is keeping you from telling them?”

He looked apologetic. “Well, when I was growing up, they always talked about when I would marry a girl and we have children of our own and we’d be living a dream of a life.”

“Their dream. You have to live your own life and if you choose to live it with me, why can they tell you how to live your life?”

“I know. I know. But it means a lot to me. I want you to get along with them and my parents aren’t exactly easy to please.”

I sighed. I was displeased at the information, but I cared too much about Jesse to get upset over something that would be quickly resolved once his parents got here. I’m sure I could charm them into loving me. I kicked the covers off me. “Okay, okay. I’m up. What’s on the to do list?”

He seemed happier. “Well not much actually. We turned up the guest room last night and I’ve been up for the past hour and a half cleaning. I just need you to tidy the kitchen. I know you get real particular about where everything goes.” 

I smiled. “Thanks, Jess. Have you eaten yet?” The growl in his stomach gave me his answer. “I’ll go make us something.” I kissed his forehead before getting out of bed and leaving the bedroom. 

I ended up making toast with jam, Jesse’s favorite breakfast food. I transferred the food to plates and turned to find Jesse intently cleaning the spotless dining table. He cleaned when he was nervous. Even if there was nothing to clean. “Jess, calm down. It’ll be okay. Just eat your breakfast.”

“My parents are not coming all the way from Norway to see our filthy apartment.” I put the plates down and walked behind him forcing him into a chair. I sat in the one next to him, forcing a forkful of food into his mouth. That got him to look at me. “Jesse. Everything will be okay. Now eat.”

And he did. After we finished our breakfast Jesse resumed his cleaning spree. He quickly gathered the plates and went to the kitchen to clean them. I sighed, holding the bridge of my nose. “Jesse.” I followed him into the kitchen seeing him scrubbing at the dishes more than was needed. I walked up behind him wrapping my arms around his waist, making him jump in surprise. I pressed kisses to the top of his shoulder and up onto his neck. “Jesse, you’re obsessing again.”

“Jaden, I--” 

“Shh, Jesse. I took the dish and the scrubber from his hands dropping them in the sink. Then, taking his chin in one hand, I pulled his face to mine, kissing him gently. His hand came up to the back of my head and held me there, his other hand taking my free hand. It didn't last too long, but I think it got him to calm down. 

He turned to face me, taking both my hands in his. “Okay, I’ll take it easy, Jay.” He kissed me one more time. “Let’s go get dressed.” 

We made our way to the bedroom where Jesse started going through his closet. “I’m gonna take a shower, Jesse.” I went into the bathroom adjacent to our room. As the hot water ran over me, I had to admit that I was a little nervous myself. Jesse hadn’t told me much about his parents so I honestly was going into this situation blind. From what I could pick up on, his parents weren’t as open minded as mine. It almost seemed like he believed his parents wouldn’t approve of our relationship. But they were his parents, right? They loved him no matter what. 

I turned the water off and wrapped a towel around my waist. I walked back into the bedroom to see Jesse folding his pocket square and placing it into the front pocket of the nicest suit he owned. “Jesse…” He could feel my objection.

“Too much?” 

“Way too much.”

“They’re your parents, not the Queen of England.” I walked forward and pulled the jacket off him putting it on the bed. “Jeans are perfectly acceptable, I’m sure.”

He started to unbutton his dress shirt while looking through his closet for new clothes while I did the same. I pulled on some darker colored jeans and a solid burgundy sweater. I turned to see Jesse still in his dress pants, but shirtless, looking at two different shirts that were only slightly less dressy than the last one he was wearing. “Jesse.”

He looked at me and almost panicked. “Jaden, don’t you think you should wear something a little nicer?” 

Okay, now he was getting a little too paranoid. “Jesse. I’m not changing. This is fine. If you’d prefer, I could wear nothing at all when I meet your parents.

His face blushed a deeper red than my sweater. “No. Please don’t.” 

I grabbed some clothes out of his closet for him. “Wear this.”

He nodded and I went back to the kitchen to finish the dishes. After doing so, I found Jesse in the entry room sitting anxiously in one of the chairs. “Jesse, what are you doing? They won’t be here for another hour.”

“I’m waiting. I want to greet them properly and punctually when they get here.”

I sighed and walked to stand in front of him, grabbing his hand, forcing him to stand. “Jesse, breathe, calm down. All will be well.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his forehead. “I hate seeing you so on edge.”

“It’s hard not to be.”

“I’m sure you’re parents are not as bad as you are making them out to seem.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but I was going to have none of it. I closed my mouth over his, silencing anything he was going to say. I ran my hands up under the hem of his shirt letting my hands rub gently at his back. That always calmed him down.

He wrapped his arms around my neck, finding solace in the gentle kiss. I could feel him relax the longer the kiss went on.

“Jesse!”

We broke apart immediately staring at the sound. Two people had opened the door and were standing there with suitcases in tow. One, a man was tall and lean, with blue hair comparable to the shade of Zane’s, and the other was a woman, not too short, with white blonde hair. There was no doubt in my mind.

These were Jesse’s parents.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jesse POV

"Jesse!"

Jaden and I broke from our kiss to look towards the speaker. I could feel the blood drain from my face and I nearly fainted.

I pushed Jaden away, desperately praying I could get away with what my parents just saw. "H-Hi, m-mom, da- dad. You're ea-early."

The two just looked at me, silent. That was more terrifying than if they were yelling. When I was younger they would yell at me if I did something stupid, but that anger never lasted more than an hour or so. It was when they were silent that I needed to worry. Especially with my mother. She had a very focused view on her expectations and was harder to make happy with me than my father.

"We called, but you didn't pick up. We figured we'd just come in because the door was unlocked." My mother led the way into our apartment taking her shoes off and practically throwing her luggage at Jaden. Then she masked her discomfort by hugging me. My father followed her in and giving his luggage to Jaden, though less aggressively.

I could tell he wanted out of this room right now. "I'm going to go put your luggage in the guest bedroom."

"How was your flight?"

"Long, but not uncomfortable." What was my mother playing at? This wasn't the reaction I was expecting at all.

After my mother pulled away my father offered a small hug as well. "It's good to see you son. I hope life has treated you well." We moved into the living room as we continued to talk. My parents sat down on the couch along the wall while I sat down on the couch perpendicular to it.

"It certainly has. I've been working as a social worker for a while which is incredibly rewarding." At that moment, Jaden walked in to join us again. "And I've had Jaden."

He smiled at my support and came over to sit next to me. My mother started to fidget uncomfortable, but only subtly. "Yes, we were wondering why the two of you were so . . . close."

"Yes." There it was. "About that. I was actually going to wait until dinner to tell you, but now the cat is out of the bag." I paused. "Jaden is my boyfriend. We've been together for five years."

The silence lasted longer than I was comfortable with. "Well, that was certainly unexpected. Five years. Is that so?"

That is what she was focusing on? "Y-Yeah. I met him when I went to Duel Academy."

"Well, I'm glad that you seem to be happy."

So far my father hadn't said anything at this point, but he didn't seem like he was about to blow up. Quite contrary, he seemed incredibly calm. He was more mad when I broke the window with a baseball when I was eight. I thought he definitely would be livid now that I was defying his plan for my future.

After that, things seemed to calm down. I let my guard down because my parents gave no indication as anything being wrong. I was even able to introduce them properly.

"Jaden, this is Charles and Elaine Andersen."

My parents talked more with Jaden, getting to know him better. It seemed normal. In my heart I was ecstatic because it seemed as if my parents truly accepted my relationship with him, but in the back of my brain, I had the lingering thought that there was more to this than I was seeing right then.

We'd made it through lunch and dinner, Jaden impressing my father with his spaghetti. The air was lighter as we ate and it wasn't until about ten that we settled into our bedrooms.

"I'm glad we still have the rest of the week ahead of us. See you in the morning, Jesse." My mother kissed me on the cheek before joining her husband back in the guest room.

When I closed the door to my bedroom, I let out a huge sigh. I still had a feeling I should be worried.

"You, okay, Jess?" I looked up at Jaden.

"Yeah. I'm just worried."

"Why?"

"My parents. This isn't like them."

"Well, your parents seem like wonderful people to me. Your dad even said he was impressed by my cooking and that he was hard to impress."

That's certainly true. "But that's cooking. If his arch nemesis made him the best spaghetti in the world, he'd be impressed, but he'd still despise the cook. I'm still not sure of his views on you."

"Well, they've been civil so far. I don't understand why you're so concerned."

"You don't understand them the way I do. For the first fifteen years of my life they only ever talked about my future being married to Adeline."

He was silent for a minute. "Who is Adeline?"

I looked at him. It was in that moment I realized he never heard about her. And I could tell he was getting worried.

I put my hands on his shoulders. "Jaden, Adeline is just a girl."

"Well if you're parents are so keen on you marrying her, she must be pretty important."

I sighed. "Adeline Thompson. She is a family friend. Her mother and my father have been best friends since they were little. They've been next door neighbors since they graduated high school. I grew up with her. We've been best friends since we were five. Ever since we were little her parents and my parents have been dead set on us getting married when we both get college degrees and have jobs. But neither of us want to get married. She's like a sister to me, not a future wife. My parents even know that I am gay. And they've never seemed to hate that; my dad's brother is gay and they have no problem with that. They just seem to not believe it."

Jaden was silent for a minute. "Do you think that your parents have let that go?"

"I honestly don't know. They've been in Norway for five years without me. Maybe something changed. But it doesn't matter. I'm not marrying Adeline. I love you. I want to be with you. And if my parents end up not accepting that, then I guess they don't get to be a part of my future."

I could see Jaden tearing up. He pulled my into him, his arms around my neck. "I love you Jesse. I love you so much." He wasn't sobbing, but I could feel his warm tears on my shoulder. I draped my arms over his back holding him to me.

We stayed like that for a while. I don't know where I would be without him. He is my anchor, my life line. Without him, I very well might have died when I was kidnapped by Kyper and his men.

Before I knew it I was on my back accepting kiss after kiss from my lover. My hands roamed his chest wishing him to be closer. His kisses moved down my to my neck and he gradually pulled my shirt up and over my head.

He stared at me after tossing my shirt to the floor. I could feel myself blush. "Beautiful. You're absolutely beautiful." He me hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it while I covered my face with my other arm.

"Don't say anything embarrassing, Jaden."

"It's not embarrassing. It's only true." He didn't make any move to uncover my eyes, only moved his kisses lower, past my chest before he settled on my abdomen. His kisses stopped and I could feel his fingers gently brushing over the skin.

I looked at him, my suspicions confirmed. He was tracing the scar Kyper's henchmen gave me. I've been self conscious of it for five years, but Jaden always made that uncertainty disappear. I let my arms fall to the sides of my head, melting into the intimacy. While the scar brought back a horrible memory, Jaden never treated it carefully. Once it healed and the bandages came off, I felt ugly, like the scar not only marred my memory but also Jaden's ability to look at me without reminding him of what he saw happen to me. Yet he only called me more and more beautiful.

That night he traced every inch of it, all thirteen inches of it, diagonally from just under my bottom right rib to the top of my left hip bone. Then he kissed every inch of it. It had become a point of intimacy for us, not pain. The constant reminder I was sure would have made me unwilling to let Jaden see me without a shirt, but I knew now that I didn't have to worry about him hating it.

That is the very thing he was doing now. "I love every inch of you. I couldn't ask for a more perfect lover."

I pushed myself up onto my elbows, pulling Jaden's face to mine. There was only one person who could make me feel like despite my imperfections, that I was perfectly lovable. Jaden was the one person who ever fully understood me. Sure I was best friends with Adeline, but she was never a person I was intimate with. Jaden I trusted indefinitely.

And I would be with him for the rest of my life if he let me and I wouldn't let anything come between us, not even my parents.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Jesse POV

It’s been four days since my parents arrived and I was making my way through the fifth day of their visit when I was finally starting to accept that my parents had finally given up on their perpetual dreams for my future. I had even started holding Jaden’s hand and kissing him in front of them without a word.

What happened in the five years I haven’t been at home?

I was actually comfortable in their presence. not like the first sixteen years of my life that i spent constantly trying to make them happy. I could finally be myself.

That night, Jaden had a duel, but I stayed behind to spend the night with my parents. Neither of them understood dueling, so I didn’t think they’d find it very entertaining. They supported my wanting to go to duel academy, but I’m sure they wished I would get a better career, which I think social work did for them. I didn’t take that career to appease my parents, but because I wanted to help young children.

We were in the living room talking comfortably when my mother brought up something I didn’t expect.

“I can’t wait for you to move back to Norway soon. Adeline has gotten a little lonely. I can’t wait to see you propose to her.”

If I hadn’t already been sitting, I would have lost my balance for sure. I was able to keep my composure though. “But, mom, I’m dating Jaden. I can’t just up and leave him.”

“Oh, of course. We are certain you’re happy with him. He is a nice young boy.”

Then my father chimed in. “We just don’t think he can provide for you in the future.”

“And you expect Adeline to provide for me. Shouldn’t I be able to provide for my spouse?”

“Of course, son. But as a social worker, you can’t support a family on your own. Adeline is currently working towards her law degree, an occupation that will provide more than enough to let you be a stay at home father if yous so desire.”

Children? Where did this come from. Until now, the talk had always been just me getting married, never children.

It was taking all I had to not lose my temper. “Okay, even if, God forbid, I were to break up with Jaden, I still wouldn’t be willing to marry Adeline, or any other woman, for that matter. I’m gay, mom, dad. That’s not something that will change.”

“About that.” Oh my god. “Charles and I have been talking, and we don’t think it’s the right lifestyle for you. There’s nothing wrong with the lifestyle, by any means, but we can’t see that choice fitting you. We’re sure this is just a phase. The sooner you move back to Bergen with us, the sooner you will realize the same. 

I was hanging by a thread here. “This is not a phase. It’s who I am. I’m not going to marry Adeline. I’m not going to have children with her. I am not going back to Bergen. And I am not going to leave Jaden.”

It was silent for a long time. I didn’t mean to be so incredibly direct, but it seemed like there was no use being subtle anymore. 

My parents just stared at me for much longer than I was comfortable. Until finally, my mother spoke a again. “Well. So be it. I see you are still stuck in your delusion. You’re still young. I don’t doubt that you’ll come to your senses soon. Adeline is still going to be there when she finishes law school.”

“Why can you not see my side of this? This is my life and I don’t think you have a right to tell me how to live it.”

“Jesse. Do not talk to your mother that way.”

I was not going to win this fight. Not right now. “Well what do you expect from me? To just uproot my entire life and go back to Bergen with you?”

“Of course not, Jesse. We would never force you do anything. We are simply guiding you in the right direction.”

“I have my direction. Jaden is my life now. And I don’t understand why you can’t accept that.”

My mother stood up and gestured to my father. “It seems he is unreasonable tonight.” Then she turned to me. “It’s getting late. We are retiring to our bedroom now. We will see you in the morning.”

They walked away and I held my head in my hands, letting out a huge sigh. If I hadn’t expelled the air from my lungs I might have yelled. But I let them go. not willing to deal with them anymore. I stayed like that for a while until I heard the door unlock and open. 

I looked toward the door and as Jaden walked in I got an idea. The perfect stab at my parent’s pride. While it was childish and I would be using Jaden for personal gain, I had a feeling he would forgive me. Until then, I just wanted to move.

“Hey, Jess. It’s pretty late. Shouldn’t you-” I

I all but attacked him, pulling his mouth to mine, not letting him speak. I practically dragged him to the bedroom, pulling his coat off. I broke the kiss briefly to take off my own shirt, tossing it to the floor. 

“Jess-”

I kissed him again. I held his face to mine for a moment before reaching down and undoing his belt and unbuttoned his shirt.

I had pushed Jaden to his limit and he finally found the strength to push me away from him. He held me at arms length, panting slightly. “Jesse, what has gotten into you?”

I didn’t have time to explain everything so I cut right to the point. “We are going to have sex until we are exhausted, probably until dawn.”

“Jesse, I-”

I pushed him on to the bed. “And you are going to make me scream.”

His face turned a shade darker than our red pain in the dining room. “Jesse, if I do that, then your parents will hear. They are maybe thirty feet away.”

I only smiled at him. “Jaden, I want them to hear. I want them to understand that I am yours. Not their toy to force into a dream that is not mine.”

I layed down beside him and pulled him over me. “Now have your way with me, my love. For now, the only things that exist are you and me. Forget about everything else.”

He still looked hesitant, but I could tell his arousal was slowly winning. I did want to prove a point to my parents, desperately, but even more so, I just wanted to focus on Jaden and forget about those two for a few hours. I loved Jaden, and I would be damned if my parents took me away from him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jaden POV

I collapsed next to Jesse, panting heavily, as if I had never breathed before.

There was no way his parents hadn’t hear us. Jesse certainly had a lot of energy in him, more than I anticipated.   
Nevertheless. “God, Jess, that was amazing.”

I could feel him panting next to me. I didn’t look at him, I was too exhausted. Before i could say something else, Jesse had pulled himself on top of me and started kissing my torso. Was he really not exhausted yet.

“Again, Jess?”

he looked up at me with a smirk. “I could go all night, Jaden.”

“Jesse it has been all night.” I looked at the clock. “It’s five in the morning. I don’t think I can take much more of this. I can’t lift my arms.”

“Then don’t. I’ll do all the work.”

My gaze locked on him. He was really insistent, and before I could argue, he went forth with his promise.

I guess one more time couldn’t hurt.

I woke up a few hours later when the clock read 9:25. Only three hours of sleep. But I wasn’t complaining. 

I looked next to me and Jesse was curled into my side. He was so beautiful. I was the luckiest man on earth to have him. His bare torso revealed his scar to me. I had seen it so many times and yet I could never look at it in disgust. It was a horrible situation that gave that scar to him, but the fact that he had survived had been a miracle. That scar was a reminder to me of what I almost lost, but never did, because he was laying next to me in peaceful content. 

I don’t remember the exact moment I fell in love with him, nor the moment I realized I wanted him to marry me, but that doesn’t matter. What did is that he loved me as much as I loved him and I wasn’t going to lose him again. 

I got out of bed, my muscles screaming for rest. Jesse had worked me for every ounce of energy I had last night. I got over myself and walked over to my dresser. In the bottom drawer at the back was the sweater Dana had gotten for Jesse two years ago at Christmas. It was garish and ugly, and Jesse never wore it except the day he got it. He still kept it because it was a gift from someone very close to him-the two of them having gone through that kidnapping experience together- and it made the perfect hiding place.

I pulled the sweat out of it’s place and unfolded it revealing a small velvet box. I opened it and looked at the beautiful ring in it. It was a dark silver with a braided rose gold braid carved into the center of the band. I saw it in the jewelry store while shopping for a gift for Dana’s birthday and I knew I had to buy it for Jesse. I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to ask him, and now that his parents are here, I can ask for their blessing. They’ve been very nice to me the past week and I was feeling good about asking them.

I got dressed and put the sweater back in the drawer keeping the ring box in my pocket. I was sure his parents would be up and Jesse sleeps like a rock; there’s no way he’d hear me ask.

I left the bedroom and went to the kitchen to find Jesse’s parents sitting on the bar stools at the counter. They were drinking tea. 

“Good morning. Can I fix you some breakfast? An omelette perhaps?” For now I was going to pretend as if nothing happened last night.

“With your cooking, that sounds wonderful.” Jesse’s father did like my cooking a lot.

I got out the ingredients and started cooking, and I thought maybe they weren’t going to bring up anything about last night either. Then Jesse’s mother spoke up. “Is Jesse still asleep?”

I had to be careful here. “Yeah, he is pretty exhausted.”

“Well I can see why, considering what the two of you were doing last night.”

Well I had no idea how to counter that. I was caught. Not that I was surprised. Jesse was loud, I think he was louder than normal intentionally. 

Then she said something that gave me a little hope. “Well it certainly means that you’re keeping him happy. We appreciate that.”

“So, uh, you’re not embarrassed about-”

“Embarrassed?” Jesse’s father interrupted me. “Probably not as embarrassed as you are right now. And it’s not surprising. Jesse said you two had been together for five years. And you’re both adults. It’s to be expected.”

They were being surprisingly calm about this. I mean they had heard me have sex with their son. This was not the reaction I was expecting at all from them. 

I put their food on plates and offered it to them. They thanked me and started to eat. I was gradually getting more confident about asking them for their blessing. They ate and we made pleasant conversation for about half an hour. I told them about my living and how Jesse and I have been doing the past five years. I told them stories about our friends, even a little bit about that whole misunderstanding Zane and Aster had last year, but not too much detail.

 

Then I knew i had to ask. When a lull in the conversation came, I took my chance. “I actually have a question I want to ask you two.”

They looked a little surprised, but not too much so. “Of course, go ahead.”

I took a deep breath, preparing myself. I had run through this speech in my head so many times, but never once said it out loud. Now was the moment of truth.

“Mr. Andersen. Mrs. Andersen. I love your son very much. He and I have been through a lot together in the past five years, but not once have I ever had any reason to doubt my love for him. I’ve given him all of my, my life, my heart, my soul, my love, and he has given me everything. No matter what comes in the rest of my life, I know that I want Jesse there right next to me.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box, placing it gently on the counter. And sliding it to them so they could see. “So, I’m hoping that you, as his parents, will give me your blessing to me to ask your son to marry me.”

Jesse’s mother opened the box and from what I could tell, she liked the look of the ring inside. I was absolutely ecstatic because I thought they were going to say yes when-

“No.” It was his mother. She brought me crashing back down to earth. 

“N-no?”

“No. I’m sorry, Jaden. I do not doubt your sincerity, but we can’t let you propose to Jesse.”

Her husband continued. “He is going to propose to Adeline in a few years. It wouldn’t make sense for you to propose now. We can’t have him getting married now before he is ready.”

It took everything I had to not lose my temper. “But I- I thought you wanted him to be happy.”

“We do. And he will be. In Norway, with Adeline.”

“Jesse doesn’t want to marry Adeline.”

“That’s what he says, but we know he’ll come to his senses eventually.”

I wa about to lose it. They really couldn’t see what they were doing to him?”

“But this ring is beautiful. I’m sure whoever you decide to marry will love it. You’re a wonderful young man. Any other man would be lucky to have you. I’m sure-”

“I am not gay!” They visibly flinched, and I did have to admit I was being a little overwhelming, but I was too far in now. I had had it with them. “I fell in love with Jesse, not because he is a man. I fell in love with Jesse because he is Jesse. He is the most amazing, wonderful, perfect man I have ever been privileged to know, and the fact that he accepts me, that he loves me is more than I could have ever asked for. I don’t understand why you refuse to believe that he wants to spend his life with me.”

“He’s young. He doesn’t know what he wants.”

“When someone has been in a committed relationship for five years, I think they have a pretty good indication about what they want.”

“Jesse’s been away from home for five years. All he needs to is come home and he’ll realize that we are right.”

I hung my head. There was no sense in arguing. They obviously had no interest in being reasonable. “Well. I guess that’s how it is then.” They looked pretty satisfied. I reached across and took the ring back. “I need to go get ready to leave. I have a meeting with my manager.”

They said nothing as I left the kitchen and went back to my bedroom. I would have started sobbing had Jesse not been still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake him. I grabbed my coat and then I left him a note on the bedside table. In his advances last night I had never told him about my meeting. I didn't want him to freak out when I was gone when he woke up.

I looked at him for a while before I leaned down and kissed his forehead. Jesse’s parents may not have given me their blessing, but that doesn't mean I can’t love him. Once his parents were back in Norway, there was nothing they could do to keep me from proposing to him. They are leaving this afternoon. When I got home, it would be just the two of us. I’d get home before he did because he had to take his parents to the airport, and then I’d pull all the stops. As much as I would have wanted to do it with their blessing, it was obvious I wasn’t going to get it. 

And there was no way in hell I was going to give him up without a fight.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jesse POV

 

When I woke up, I was surprised to find Jaden wasn’t next to me. I looked at the clock. 11:34. I groaned. My parents had to be at the airport by three. Then I saw a note next to the clock. I got off the bed to go read it and immediately fell down. There was an incredible ache in my lower back and legs. I guess there was a reason we never went all night.

 

It took me a minute to find my balance and I staggered over to the table picking up the piece of paper.

 

_Jesse._

_Sorry I forgot to tell you, I have a meeting with my manager. I’ll see you when you get home._

_I love you,_

_Jaden_

 

Well I guess it was my fault that he didn’t get to tell me, when I basically dragged him into the bedroom.

 

I got dressed and left the bedroom to go talk to my parents. I found them in the living room.

 

I opened my mouth to say hello, but my mother interrupted me. “Jesse, good morning! How’d you sleep?”

 

I wanted to bring attention to last night, rub it in their face. “Uh, well. I mean I’m little sore because Jaden-”

 

"Wonderful. Jesse, go pack your things.”

 

“Um, what?” My things? What was she talking about?

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m just excited. We were talking with Jaden this morning and he suggested you take a trip back home, just for a little while.”

 

What. That did not sound like Jaden. He wouldn’t do something like this without telling me. “I’m sorry. Why am I going to Norway?”

 

“Well we told Jaden that we were concerned about you, that we wanted you to understand our view on the situation, and that we didn’t know how to get through to you. He suggested that maybe you needed to go home for a bit. You might not change your mind on your relationship, but at least you and we can come to an understanding.”

 

Did that really happen? I mean if it did, then that meant that Jaden really wanted my relationship with my parents to be okay. Jaden was going to be in my future, and I guess he wanted my parents to be in it too. It meant a lot to me. That he cared enough to let me go to Norway with them to come to an understanding. This was my opportunity to help them understand me. And if I went back, I could see Adeline. I haven't’ seen her since I left. I did miss her, but mostly she could help convince my parents about how we weren’t getting married. I don’t know exactly what Jaden said to them, but I was incredibly thankful for whatever he did say.

 

“Okay. I’ll go.”

 

“Great. I’m looking forward to this. Go pack your things. We’ll make you breakfast.”

 

I did as they asked. I looked once more at the note before I started getting ready.  I’ll see you when you get home. When I got home from Norway. I smiled. That’s right. No matter how far away I went, even to my home town, my home was here. It was with Jaden.

 

I could work through this. We could work through this. I could make them understand what I want, and if it meant going to Norway to make it happen, so be it.

 

I’d come back to Jaden no matter what happens.

 

* * *

 

Jaden POV

 

That meeting took so much longer than I thought it would. I definitely thought I would be home by 2:00, 2:30 ast the very latest. Now it’s 5:00 and I am starving.

 

I took my keys out of my pocket and remembered that tonight would be incredibly relaxing. Jesse’s parents were gone, neither of us had work tomorrow and we had the rest of the night ahead of us. Maybe some dinner, Jesse’s favorite movie, who knows. Whatever we did, I didn’t care.

 

I unlocked the door and called out, “Jesse, I’m home.” I was slightly surprised when I didn’t hear a reply. He was probably just taking a shower.

 

I went into my bedroom and hung my jacket in the closet, though the closet seemed strangely more empty than normal, though I couldn’t place why. I knocked on the bathroom door, but heard nothing, not even water water running. I opened it to find it empty. Where was he?

 

Closing the door, I noticed the note I had left for Jesse that morning. I picked it up and saw Jesse’s writing beneath my own.

 

_I’m going to Norway with my parents. I think we have come to an agreement. Everything is going to be okay. Thanks for everything!_

Oh. My. God. He’s gone.

 

Thanks for everything . . . that’s how he ends this? What did his parents say to him? Last night he was so insistent on that he was never going to leave me and now he’s gone. What happened while I was not here.

 

I guess it was something that convinced Jesse to leave without giving me any word.

 

I dropped the note and almost lost my balance. I steadied myself on the bedside table.

 

Memories and emotions were rushing through my head. From yesterday all the way back to our first kiss. The day we finally started our relationship.

 

_I was lying on my bed procrastinating as usual. Was all that homework really necessary? Well it wasn't due until next week. It could wait._

_I glanced at the clock. It wasn’t too late. What was I supposed to do the rest of the night? I threw my arms over my eyes and sighed. God, maybe I should just do my homework. I got up and was about to sit at my desk when there was a knock on my door. DId Syrus forget his key again. That was typical._

_But when I opened the door, Jesse was standing behind it. I thought he was busy tonight. Something about a dinner for the international students. I wasn’t expecting him to show up?_

_“Hey, Jaden, you busy?”_

_“Uh, I was gonna do my homework.”_

_He got a look of exaggerated but fake surprise on his face. “Do my ears deceive me?  You? Doing your homework voluntarily? I thought I’d never see the day.”_

_I smiled, embarrassed, and punched him playfully in the shoulder. “Shut up, Jess. I am a good student.”_

_He stumbled back and put his hand over his chest as if I had punched him and reacted comically. “Jaden I  don’t know who you are anymore.” He grabbed my head, turning it all directions, examining me. “Who are you and what did you do with my best friend?”_

_I pushed him away gently. “Nothing! I’m right here. Now what did you want?”_

_“I wanted to know if you were busy.”_

_“Well, obviously not. What did you have in mind?”_

_He looked away slightly, as if embarrassed. But at the moment I didn’t notice. “I don’t know. The island is pretty big, you wanna hang out?”_

_I had never see Jesse so unclear like this before, but he was my best friend. “Sure. Just let me put my shoes on.”_

_He nodded and as I slipped on my shoes, I was aware of how Jesse’s eyes were on my the whole time. Don’t get me wrong. I had figured out how I felt about Jesse long ago. But I have never acted on any of those feelings. I was too concerned about how he would react. I couldn’t lose my best friend over a silly crush. I was sure I’d get over it._

_Eventually._

_I mean, Jesse was the perfect guy, any girl would be lucky to have him. I’ve seen just about every girl on campus stare at him as he walks by. He could have any girl he wanted. He was super attractive.  His hair was perfect, and it perfectly framed his face, and his clothes fit him perfectly right down to his boots._

_Before I met Jesse, I only had eyes for girls. I had had some crushes when I was little, but none of the girls on campus made my heart race the way Jesse did._

_I confused even myself. I still found girls attractive, but not all boys, just Jesse. What did that mean?_

_“Okay, ready to go. Where are we headed?”_

_“Just take a walk?”_

_He seemed aloof, and hesitant, but still just like Jesse. “Sure, sounds fun.”_

_We made small talk for a while, our steps fell in sync, and before I knew it we had made it to a part of campus I’d never seen before. Jesse had lead us through the forest on the path, but I had no idea it let out here._

_It was a cliff that overlooked the ocean to the west, the sunset in full view, unobstructed by land. It was a beautiful sight, and about thirty feet back from the edge was a  single bench pointed toward the ocean._

_“Wow,  how did you find this?”_

_“I went for a walk one night and found it. Nothing special.”_

_“Nothing special? It’s incredible. But why did you bring me out here?”_

_He gave me a shy smile. “I  wanted to see your reaction.”_

_Well I was blown away. I sat down on the bench and took in the sight. Glancing back at Jesse, I patted the seat next to me. “Come join me.”_

_He did so._

_“Hey, I thought you had that dinner thing tonight?”_

_“What? No, that’s tomorrow. Tonight I’m spending time with my best friend.”_

_Oh. Well, I felt stupid. “I could have sworn that was tonight.”_

_He laughed a little. “No harm no foul.”_

_There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes.Then Jesse broke it. “Have any new cards in your deck, lately?”_

_That set me off, talking probably too much about cards he probably didn’t care about. Somewhere in the middle of my rant, I got a stinging in my eye._

_“Ah.” My hand flew to my closed eye and started rubbing it. “There’s something in my eye.”_

_“Well don’t rub it! You’ll make it worse. Let me see.” He grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away from my face. He gently grabbed either side of my head. “Open your eyes.”_

_I forced them open despite the stinging. Jesse’s face was so close to mine, only inches away. I was too busy staring at his features to realize that he had gotten whatever was hurting my eye out._

_“Eyelash. Make a wish” That snapped me out of my trance. He held his hand right in front of my face waiting for me to make my wish. I glanced at him, smiled and I knew exactly what I wanted._

_I blew the eyelash off his fingertip. “What did you wish for?”_

_“Jesse, I can’t tell you what I wished for! It won’t come true.”_

_The next thing I knew is that Jesse pulled me against him, his lips against mine._

_Was this really happening. It couldn’t be. DId I kiss him? I know that I’ve wanted to. No, he definitely kissed me. Why? Did he go to stand up and slipped?_

_I didn’t have enough time to think about it because as soon as it had begun, it ended, and Jesse stood up, looking panicked._

_“I-I’m so sorry. That- I mean- That- I- I’m sorry.” He turned and started to leave._

_It didn’t take long to snap out of it. I didn’t want Jesse to get the wrong idea._

_I got up and ran after him. “Jesse, wait.”_

_He stopped just before he entered the forest. He didn’t turn around._

_“Jesse. Look at me.”_

_He hesitated, but he did as I asked. I could see the tears he was failing to hide. “Jaden, spare me what I don’t want to hear. I’m sorry I offended you. I understand if you never want to see me again. Just- just please-” He didn’t finish his sentence. He wiped some tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry.”_

_He turned and started to walk away again. “Jesse. Let me give my side if the story.”_

_“I told you. I don’t need to hear what I already know. I’ve just liked you for so long. God, this is not how this was supposed to go. And I ruined everything.”_

_“Jesse! Why can’t you accept the fact that maybe I feel the same?”_

_He looked taken aback. I took the chance to close the distance between us. “I . . . feel the same, Jesse. You didn’t ruin anything.”_

_He opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t form any words. “But you- you’re not . . . attracted to men. We’ve stayed up late talking about the types of girls you find attractive. You can’t be attracted to me. You can have any girl you want. You wouldn’t pick a pathetic, gay, idiot like me.”_

_I almost wanted to yell at him about how wrong he was, but I stayed calm. “Then tell me why I don’t find any girl on this campus as incredible as you are. Tell why you’re the only one who can make my heart beat so fast it feels like it’s going to burst of out of my chest. Tell me why every time I see a girl stare at you I get so insanely jealous and want to tear you away and hide you somewhere only I can find you.”_

_He stared at me, dumbfounded. I reached out and gently took his shoulder. “You are the only person I’ve ever felt this way about.”_

_“But I’m a boy. You-”_

_“I don’t care that you’re a boy.” My other hand came up to the side of his face. “I only care that there’s something here where I was sure there was nothing.”_

_He looked like he was starting to believe me. “You really want to take a chance on me?”_

_I pulled his head down to rest my forehead against his. “I would take a chance on you a million times over.”_

_“So does this mean . . .”_

_“I’m yours. If you’ll have me.”_

_He had started crying again. Out of happiness this time._

_I didn’t wait for him to answer. I kissed him this time, and it felt as if it was something we had done thousands of times before._

He was the most important person to me. I loved him more than myself, and now he was gone. What was I supposed to do?

I settled myself on the floor and took my phone out of my pocket, my hand shaking almost uncontrollably. I unlocked it to show my background and I almost dropped my phone. It was a picture of Jesse and me, him on my back in a piggy back, leaning over my shoulder to give me a kiss. My favorite picture. I gathered my resolve and turned on my dialer. I called the one person I could think of to trust for help.

 

I called Dana.

 

She picked up after three rings. “Hello.”

 

“Dana . . . I . . .” I finally felt the tears at my eyes spill over. I covered my mouth to prevent the sound of sobbing from escaping.

 

“Jaden? Jaden, what’s wrong?”

 

“I . . . I . . .”

 

“Jaden, I’m coming over. I’ll be there soon. Hang in there.”

 

She hung up. I was grateful that she understood I needed her. Now I need her to understand how much I need Jesse.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Jesse POV

 

Eighteen hours was too long for one flight. Especially after the flight was delayed five hours. It would have only been twelve if not for that six hour layover in Amsterdam. But I was confident that it was worth it and that I could make my parents see my way. We got out of the airport and were on our way to my parents’ house. I haven’t been here in forever. I almost forgot just how beautiful it was here. The mountains and the water. It gave me the idea to bring Jaden here once I sorted out this whole mess with my parents.

 

We pulled into the driveway of the house I remembered fondly growing up in. “We called a visitor for you.”

 

I was confused. What visitor could I possibly have. I haven’t been here in years. I helped my parents grab luggage out of the car and bring it inside. As soon as the door opened I understood what they meant by visitor. 

 

“Hi Jesse.”

 

I practically threw the luggage to the side and ran over to the person and hugged her immediately.

 

“Adeline!”

 

The two of us nearly fell over from how fast I ran over here. Still she hugged back, laughing lightly. I released her, and put my hand on her cheek to take in her features. 

 

Before I could say anything my parents interrupted. “We’ll just give the two of you some privacy.” Then they went up the stairs without another word. 

 

I looked back as Adeline forgetting about them for a minute. I smiled at her. “You have really grown into a beautiful woman. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

 

She saw right through me. “By how fast you ran over here when you saw me, I would say that is entirely untrue.” 

 

We both laughed. “You got me. Why don’t we sit down?”

 

We took chairs at the dining table. “So how have you been! I haven’t seen you in years!”

 

“Oh nothing too exciting. Living in Domino City with my boyfriend.”

 

“Oh don’t tell me. Jaden. Right? He sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to meet him. When is the wedding?”

 

If I had been drinking something, I probably would have spit it all over her. “Oh we’re not . . . I mean not that I wouldn’t like to . . .”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed because you’ve been together for so long.”

 

I smiled. “Five years. It sounds so much longer than it’s felt.”

 

“He must be incredible.”

 

“Oh, he’s perfect. I can’t wait for you to meet him. Anyway. Enough about me. How have you been?”

 

“Oh nothing too life changing. I’m working my way through law school.” She not subtly took my right hand in her left. “And I got engaged.” My attention went to her hand and I noticed the ring there. 

 

I brought it closer to my face to see it in detail. “It’s beautiful! How long?”

 

“His name is Adam We’ve been together four years. He proposed a month ago.”

 

“I’m so happy for you. Send me a wedding invitation! Me and Jaden will be there for sure.”

 

“That’s good to here.”

 

“So how did your parents take it?”

 

“They love it. And they love Adam. They gave up on us getting married long ago.”

 

“I wish I could say the same. That’s the whole reason I came here. To convince them that Jaden is who I want to spend my life with.”

 

“Well I wish you the best of luck.”

 

“I’ll need it.”

 

We stood up then. “Well I’d better go. Adam and I are having dinner with his parents.” She stood on her tip toes and kissed my cheek. “Call if you need anything.”

 

“Thank you. We’ll definitely talk later.” I kissed her forehead. “Have fun with the in-laws.”

 

She left then and I heard my parents coming down the stairs. I had half a mind to believe they were eavesdropping

 

“You two catch up?”

 

“Yeah, incredible isn’t it. She’s engaged.”

 

My mother looked disappointed. “Yes, we heard about that. But after all, it’s only engaged, not married. You can still win her over.”

 

Not this again. “Mom, I’ve told you. We’re not going to get married. Her parents have accepted that. Why can’t you?”

 

“Maybe, sweetie. Well you’re going to be here awhile. I wish I had told you to pack more seeing as you won’t be going back to Domino City. But we can just buy you new things.”

 

I felt my heart stop. “What do you mean?”

 

“Well that’s why you agreed to come right? Because you want to try to win over Adeline?”

 

“What!” I was not hearing this. “I agreed to come because you said Jaden suggested we have a family reunion just the three of us.”

 

“Oh yes. That’s right. See, we told you that because we knew you’d never come and realize that we were right unless you thought it was his idea.”

 

I almost lost my balance. “So you’re telling me that Jaden doesn’t know that I’m here?”

 

“Well. We figured that wouldn’t matter. You can just spend your time with Adeline now.”

 

“Are you listening to yourself right now! You tricked me into coming here to get me away from the man I love and he doesn’t know I’m here?”

 

“Well, yes, but-”

 

“Don’t you understand? Jaden is going to think I left him. He is going to find out I’m gone and he is going to think I ran away from him to fulfill your wishes. I have to go back.”

 

“Well it’s just like you said. He thinks you left him. If you go back, are you so sure you’ll have someone to go back to?”

 

I froze for two reasons. The first was that she had the gall to say something like that. The other reason was that she had a point. Jaden might not be willing to listen to whatever I have to say.

 

I ran my hands through my hair. “Do you understand that you’ve ruined my life?”

 

She looked as if I had just slapped her.

 

“You tricked me into leaving Jaden and I may never get him back. You have ruined my one chance at happiness! Can’t you just understand that this is my life? I love Jaden. Not Adeline.” I had to fight the tears. “I love Jaden, and now I may never get the chance to prove that to him anymore.”

 

I couldn’t stay there. I moved towards the door. “Where are you going?”

 

I looked back at them. “After all this you expect me to stay here. I’m leaving. Good luck ever hearing from me again.”

 

I slammed the door behind me not even caring that I left my luggage. My clothes could be replaced.

 

Jaden could not.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
Jaden POV

After I had told her everything, she sat there in silence, processing the story. 

“That doesn’t sound like him at all.”

I just nodded. “I know. That’s why I don’t understand why he did it.”

She got up and walked over to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Jaden, I am so sorry this happened to you.”

I pulled her against me and I buried my face in her stomach, finally letting my tears fall. She stroked my hair comfortingly. So many thoughts ran through my head. I had no idea what I needed. 

“Jaden, I wish there was something I could do.”

I pulled my head away from her. “I want to chase after him. But what good will that do? He obviously doesn’t want me anymore.”

She sat down next to me. “Well, maybe you should go after him.”

I looked at her, shocked. “Dana, I-”

“I think that’s your only option, Jaden. You can either sit here and let him go, or go after him and fight for him.”

“But Dana, I can’t just up and leave to go after him. I have work. I have-”

“Jaden, you can miss work for a few days. Your agency won’t drop you. They begged you to choose them. You are top five in the world. You’re no amateur. Plus, even if they did drop you, any agency would pick you up immediately. Agencies can be replaced. This apartment can be replaced. Jesse.” She pulled my face to look at her. “Jesse cannot be replaced. I will not sit here and let this happen.” 

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She looked up a number then dialed it. It wasn’t long until she was talking. “I’d like to book one ticket from Domino City to Bergen, Norway. Yes. Yes. Just carry on. As soon as possible.” I was going to say something but Dana put her hand over my mouth. “Credit Card. One moment.” She stood up and went to her purse, pulling out her wallet and she read the number of her card to the person on the the phone. 

“Dana-”

She pulled the receiver away from her face, covering it. “Shh. Jaden, you are doing this.”She went back to her phone. “Yes. Thank you so much.”

She hung up, returning her wallet to her purse. “Those must have been expensive.”

“You can pay me back after you bring back Jesse. Now go pack. Turns out there is a flight leaving tomorrow night. It was the earliest one. I’m staying here until you have to leave.”

“You’re really not giving me a choice, are you?”

“Not any chance in hell, my dear. Let me call Kenzan and then I’m making you eat something.”

I just watched as she made her call. I think I would have gone after him once I was thinking clearly, but who knows how long that would have taken. Weeks maybe? Dana could see what I needed after an hour. She was willing to drop everything to come see me. I had no idea what she was doing before I called her and now she is staying here until she puts me on a plane to go after Jesse. She also dropped who knows how much money to get me a ticket on that plane. She really was an angel.

She hung up the phone. “Okay, what are you hungry for?”

After Dana’s delicious dinner (pasta), there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it.” Dana left the kitchen to answer it. Who would be visiting right now? I followed her to the entry room.

“Hey, Kenzan, thanks for bringing my stuff over.”

I guess Dana was serious when she said she was staying over. “Of course.” He caught sight of me. “Jaden, I’m sorry. You’ll set this straight I know it.”

The two of them knew no end to their kindness. They were perfect. I didn’t deserve them in my life. “Thanks, Hassleberry. I will. I promise.”

“Okay. I’m taking Jaden to the airport tomorrow. Then I’ll come over.”

“Take as long as you need. Go to Norway with him if you think that’s what they need.” He turned to me. “Dana knows best after all. She has all the answers. 

I nodded. “Always the voice of reason.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She stood on her toes and Hassleberry leaned down to kiss her goodbye. I couldn’t wait until I had Jesse back and I could kiss him. 

I didn’t sleep well that night. Jesse was on my mind the whole time, but eventually I managed to fall asleep. I don’t know how much sleep I got before I heard Dana cooking in the kitchen.   
I turned over half expecting Jesse to be lying his spot. It was still empty. I grabbed his pillow, pulling it tight to my chest, inhaling deeply. I could smell remnants of his cologne on it. It was a comforting smell, one that when I smell it, I feel safe. I feel at home. Now I realize that the comfort I found in that smell was really found in the man I loved so much. 

I still couldn’t believe the situation. I wanted to tell myself it wasn’t happening, but I knew the moment I tried to wallow again Dana would talk sense into me.

I was going to Norway tonight. 

I was going after him.

I’ve never been to Norway. How would I know where to go? 

That was something I’d figure out when I got there. 

I rolled out of bed not bothering to take a look in the mirror, something I regretted as soon as I saw Dana. 

“Good morning, Ja-” She caught sight of me and failed to hide her laugh.

“What?”

“Your hair! I had no idea your bed head was so horrendous.”

I smiled. I hardly thought about my bed head anymore. Jesse was used to it and didn’t say anything about it now. I usually ate breakfast and then styled my hair, Jesse distracting me during the whole process.

“Does Jesse have bed head that bad?”

“Of course he doesn’t. Just my luck.”

“Well, enough about that. Eat. I’m going to get dressed.”

As I ate, I thought back to yesterday at this table. When I asked Jesse’s parents for their blessing. I still wanted to ask him to marry me. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. 

I didn’t really have a plan. So far the strategy was to go in, guns blazing, find Jesse and win him back and go back to normal. 

 

I wonder what Bergen is like. Jesse has showed me pictures, always promising to take me there. Who would have guessed that the first time I actually went it would because I had to chase after him. 

“Jaden, you haven’t eaten anything.”

I jumped a little at the sound of Dana’s voice. She sat across from me and I offered her a smile. “Just thinking.”

“About Jesse.”

Not a question. I felt my smile turn sad. “About Jesse.” 

We sat there, neither really knowing what to say. There wasn’t much more I could say that I haven’t said already. 

“I just love him so much.”

“I know.”

“I was going to ask him to marry me.”

I caught a glimpse of the look of surprised joy on her face. “All the more reason to chase after him. You find him and you don’t give him any reason to say no. You ask him right there.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“There are no good ideas when it comes to love. Only crazy impulses.”

“That’s been our entire relationship. It started with an impulse. And now you’re sending me to Norway on an impulse.”

“An impulse you would have gotten eventually. I just pushed you in the right direction.”

“That you did.” I reached over and grabbed her hand. “Thank you Dana.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Now, can I see the ring?”

I smiled. “Sure.” I got up and retrieved it from its hiding place and slid the box across the table to her.

It took only a second of her looking at it to gasp. “Jaden, it’s beautiful.” 

“Well I certainly thought so.”

“You know, Kenzan and I always thought the two of you would have been the first to get married.”

I chuckled. “Is that so?”

“I mean, in all the time I’ve know you two, you’ve acted like a married couple. We’ve just been waiting for you two to make it official.”

“Well, you might not have to wait much longer.”

“I hope not. Now eat.”

“Yes, mom.”

“Don’t use that tone with me young man.”

We both laughed at that exchange. If Dana could be this positive about the situation, then maybe there really was hope.

Jesse POV

After running out of my parents’ house there wasn’t really anywhere I could go. 

I went to the first place that I could think of: the airport.

I had to get back to Domino City immediately. I didn’t care how much it cost. I just had to get back to Jaden. As soon as I walked in I located the ticket desk.

“Hello, sir, how can I help you?”

“I need to buy a ticket for the soonest flight to Domino City.”

She did some typing on her computer before giving me an answer. “It looks like the next flight from Bergen to Domino City leaves in five days.”

“Five days!” I couldn’t stay here for five days. I had to go back immediately. “Are you sure there isn’t one sooner?”

She checked again. “I’m sorry. One left today about three hours ago. But this one is the best I can offer you. I know it’s not ideal if you’re in a hurry, but unless you want to wait another week after that flight, you’ll have to wait five days.”

I sighed in distress. I couldn’t take this out on her. As much as I could see her attitude starting to show, she was just doing her job. I just hoped Jaden could last another five days. “I’ll take it.”

She did more typing, gave me a price, a number I didn’t care to listen to, and I handed her my credit card. During the transaction she asked me mundane questions that I answered generically. She scribbled something on my receipt before handing it to me. A string of numbers. I was in no mood.

“What is this?”

She blushed. “My phone number. You’re cute. GIve me a call.”

I was so done with her. I wanted to throw the receipt at her and storm off, but I decided to stay calm and let her down easy.

“Look, you’re pretty, very pretty.” She blushed, but also looked sad. “But, uh, I’m not your type. I,” I leaned in closer, dropping my voice to a whisper. “I have a boyfriend.”

The look of realization spread over her face. “Oh, I am so sorry. I’m sorry for embarrassing you.”

“Not at all. Besides. You’ll find a guy. I promise. With as cute as you are, they are probably lining up.”

With that I walked away. After all, I had to find a hotel to spend five nights in. Bergen was a big city. I should be able to find a place. I had already spent a bit of money on the taxi ride here, so somewhere close.

It took me an hour to find an inn. Nothing special. Just a little thing on the cost.

I walked up to the desk. “Hello, how can I help you?” she was an adorable old lady, probably the owen of the inn.

“Hello. I need a room for five nights.”

“You look exhausted dear.”

For some reason, I didn’t feel like losing my temper with her.

“Well I just got in from an eighteen hour flight a few hours ago, and I’m headed back on the same flight in five days.”

“Oh my. Quite the traveler. The jet lag must be terrible.”

“I really just need to get some sleep and find something to eat.”

“Of course. In fact, you first night is on the house. go get some sleep.” She handed me a key and I know I had a look of shock on my face.

“Are you sure? I can pay.”

“Don’t worry. Go rest.”

“Thank you.”

I found my room, going straight to the bed, not bothering to take my clothes off. 

Out of habit I chose the side of the bed I would have slept on at home.

My home.

My home with Jaden.

I looked at the other side where he should have been, back in our room in Domino City.

“Just wait Jaden. Just a little longer. Wait until I’m home.”


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I know that these characters don’t have middle names in the canon show, but I felt it appropriate to give Jesse one in the context of this chapter.  
Chapter 8

Jesse POV

Despite the situation I actually slept very well. After checking into my room, I got some food, walked down by the shore until night and slept until 9 am the next morning. 

For a moment I was wondering why I was in a hotel room, but then I remembered the situation. I wanted to cry, but that would have only made it worse. 

I grabbed the pillow Jaden’s head should have been on and pulled it close to me picturing Jaden there with me. God, I wish I could go back sooner. 

What was I supposed to do for five days? I couldn’t go back to my parents. I couldn’t worry Adeline. That wouldn’t be fair. So I guess I was left to wonder my home town. See how it had changed. 

I took a shower and realized that I didn’t have a change of clothes. That was first on my plan. Buy a change of clothes.

After I got dressed, I went down stairs. Apparently this inn was more of a bed and breakfast. There was a small dining room where the few guests were enjoying the morning. I was glad they served breakfast so late.

“Good morning, young man.” I turned around to see the old lady from the counter yesterday.

“Hello.”

“Sleep well?”

“As well as I could.”

“Well, eat something, you’ll get some energy.”

“Thanks. Oh, and where is the nearest clothing store?” I didn’t grow up in this part of Bergen.

She just smiled and gave me directions without asking questions. I was so happy for her understanding.

Breakfast was simple. toast, jam, cheese, and yogurt. The same thing I had growing up. The same thing I had most mornings now. Jaden adopted my habits as his own and, when I sleep in I can always expect warm toast with jam and cheese. A few times Jaden even gave me breakfast in bed. 

I ate, followed the directions to the clothing store, bought a pair of jeans and a few t-shirts. The store wasn’t all that far from the inn. I went back there to change and leave the rest of my clothes before figuring out what else to do. 

I didn’t want to be holed up here for five days. I never saw much of south Bergen growing up. Maybe I’d find something worth doing. Something to distract me. 

I took a walk down to the shore. The water was calm today. I leaned over the railing, closing my eyes to the feel of the wind against my face. 

“Daddy! Daddy! I want to go down to the beach!”

I turned my attention to the small girl running away from her father, an elated look on her face, an exasperated one on her father’s.

Apparently I was interesting to the little girl as she slowed her pace as she approached me. That look of excitement on her face fading as she got closer.

“Why are you sad?” I was surprised by the question. Was it that obvious? “Come here.” She motioned for me to squat down to her level. I did so. I was glad my profession was working with children, otherwise I might have been incredibly uncomfortable.

She put her pointer finger on my forehead. “If you frown, you’ll get wrinkles.”

I laughed. Children always knew when something was wrong. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“My name is Nina Wolff. What’s yours?”

“Jesse Andersen.”

“Okay, Jesse. Why are you sad?”

What was I supposed to say? The situation was far too complicated to explain right now. “I’m just missing a very close friend of mine right now?”

“Where are they?”

“A long ways away. He’s on the other side of the world.”

“Well why don’t you go see him?”

“Oh, I’m planning on it. Very soon.”

“Then will you stop being sad?”

I smiled. “I hope so, Nina. He has a certain effect on people.”

“What’s his name?”

Before I could answer, her father interrupted our conversation. “Nina! Don’t bother this nice man.” He came down next to her, facing me. “I am so sorry. She doesn’t have boundaries.”

“It’s really okay. I work with children. I don’t mind humoring her.”

“Hey, you didn’t answer my question.”

I looked back at her. “Jaden.”

“Jaden . . .” She was waiting for me to give his last name.

“Jaden Yuki.”

She giggled. “What kind of last name is Yuki?”

“Oh, he’s not from Norway.”

“Well you tell him I say hi.”

“Will do, Nina.”

“Now, Nina. You wanted to go see the beach.” I think Nina was embarrassing her father. He stood up and motioned for her to follow.

“Wait, can I give Jesse a hug?”

He looked at me, another apologetic look on his face. I smiled at him. “It’s okay.” I turned to Nina. “Sure.” I held out my arms.

She practically ran to me. It was a relief. After the past few days I’ve had, this little girl was a welcome distraction. 

“No more frowning, okay.” 

“You got it. Now, go have fun.”

I stood up and watched as Nina and her father walked away to the beach. I smiled as I watched them go, taking notice of all the people waking up and down the shore line. Families, lovers, people whose lives were perfect. 

The hardest part about this was thinking about Jaden back home. What was he thinking right now. He hadn’t called me. To be fair, I hadn’t called him either, but what would I say? He was probably hated me by now. When I went back there would be so much groveling that I would have to do. That is if he was even willing to listen.

I started walking slowly in the direction Nina and her father walked looking at all the people. Young couples. Parents with their children, old couples, groups of friends, and . . .

A single brunette about 100 yards down the way. He looked lost, his back to me. It seemed like he was checking a map, looking at landmarks, and generally standing there confused. I laughed to myself. That would be just what Jaden would do if he was left on his own in Bergen. 

The man turned around looking in my direction this time. I felt my heart stop.

It couldn’t.

It couldn’t be. 

The man stopped in his lost haze and I could feel him staring right at me. 

I was frozen. I couldn’t believe it. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? 

As if on cue, all the people on the shore naturally separated leaving a clear path between me and the man.

I knew.

And I ran.

I saw Jaden drop the map and run at me too. Slowly, too slowly, the distance closed between us.

I threw my arms around his neck and he wrapped his around my waist lifting me off the ground. Those tears I had been holding back until now knew no end.

I could tell he was crying too, maybe not as profusely as me, but crying nonetheless.

He grabbed the sides of my face to force me to look at him. He said nothing, just pulled me into a kiss, a kiss I welcomed with vigor.

I don’t know how long it lasted, but that didn’t matter. I was just surprised that Jaden was here. He came after me. When I thought he would be at home worried that I had abandoned him, here he was.

When we broke apart, he kept his hands on my face. He used his thumbs to wipe tears from my cheeks. He was smiling at me, like he was glad I was safe.

“Jaden, I-”

“Shh.” He put his finger over my lips. “It can wait.” He took both my hands in his. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Jaden.” I rested my forehead against his. “I love you. I love you so much.”

“I know, Jesse. I love you, too. More than I can say in words.”

“I didn’t run away. I want you to know that.”

“I know, babe. I know. I wouldn’t be here right now if I thought so.”

“I can explain everything. I promise.”

“I said it can wait. Right now is about you and me.” We were both silent for a minute. I had nothing to say; I was just waiting for Jaden to continue.

“I love you, Jesse.” He put his hand on my neck.

“And I love you.”

“I love you to the moon and back. I love you more than myself, so much that coming to Norway to see you is the easiest trial I would go through to have you. I want to give you my life. No. I gave it to you years ago. That day you kissed me for the first time and stole my heart. And since then, I’ve been falling in love more and more everyday. When I wake up to you lying next to me, I am reminded of just how incredibly lucky I am. Jesse.”

He trailed off for a moment as I was absorbing what he said. I couldn’t think of anything to say. But before I could actually say something he continued. “I want to tell you something. Something I’ve never told you, but something I didn’t think mattered until now.” My heart dropped. Was something wrong?

“Jesse, I’m not . . . I’m not gay.” I looked straight at him. I never thought he was, considering how he talked about girls back at Duel Academy. “And I’ve never found another man attractive. But none of that ever stopped me from falling in love with the most incredible, caring, beautiful man that I have ever met. Nor has it stopped me from believing that I’ve found the man I want to grow old with.”

I figured he was at least bi. Was I really the only man he’d ever looked at? “I want to give you everything I have. Starting with me. And even though this isn’t exactly how I pictured this would happen . . .” He let that train of thought go. He took a breath and looked into my eyes, not daring to break the contact. “Jesse Simon Andersen.” He slowly dropped down on one knee. Oh my god. He pulled a small velvet box out his jacket pocket and opened it in front of me. “Will you marry me?”

I covered my mouth to hide the wide smile I could feel growing out of surprise. Even with how much I loved him, wanted to give my life to him, marriage was never something I expected him to want. Sure I’d had my fantasies about being married, but it was enough that he was with me. The unsaid promise was enough for me. But now.

Now we could be so much more. When I pictured my future, Jaden was always there. Where I went, he went, never separated, and now I knew he wanted the same.

“Yes.”

He let out a breath I hadn’t noticed he was holding. “Yes, Jaden. Yes. Yes. A million times yes!” I pulled him to kiss him. Nothing mattered anymore. Just the two of us. When we separated he took my left hand with both of his.

“May I?”

“Of course.” It fit perfectly. And it was beautiful. “I love it Jaden.” I put my hands on either side of his face. “I love you.”

I kissed him again. “You know Jaden, I have a room at a bed and Breakfast for the next four days. Why don’t we go somewhere more private?”

He smiled knowingly at me. As hard as I tried, I could never be subtle around him.   
I laid in the bed panting next to Jaden. “I love you so much, Jaden.”

He rolled over me and kissed the corner of my mouth. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that.”

“You must be exhausted.”

“It’s worth it. To come see you.”

There was still that elephant in the room. “Jaden, I want to tell you why I came here.”

He sighed and sat up. I sat up too, leaning into his back kissing his shoulder. “My parents-”

He scoffed at me. “God, I do not want to hear about them again.”

“Just listen. My parents told me you had talked to them and said you gave them the idea to bring me here.”

He jumped to deny the charge. “I never-”

“I know.” He shut up. “They didn’t tell me the truth until we got here. After I saw Adeline again. I left immediately and bought a ticket to come back, but the plane doesn’t leave for another four days. I wanted to come back earlier, but it was the best I could do.” I wrapped my arms around his bare chest, holding him close. “I would never have left if I thought you weren’t okay with it. No matter how much I want to have a semi-decent relationship with my parents, I will always choose you. You are my life now.” I straightened my left arm to show him the ring he’d given me not long ago. “You wouldn’t have given me this if you didn’t feel the same.”

I kissed him on his cheek. I said all I had to say; I was just waiting for his response. 

“They said no.” I was confused.

“Who said-”

“Your parents. I asked them for their blessing to ask you to marry me. And they wouldn’t give it.” He took my left hand in both of his, running his fingers over the metal of my ring. 

I had no idea he’d asked for their blessing. “When did you do that?”

“The morning they were supposed to leave. You were still asleep. They said that any man would be lucky to have me. But I don’t want just any man. I want you. From now until the end of my life.”

He looked back at me and I leaned forward to kiss him. “Well you don’t need their blessing. I am marrying you no matter what they think and if they are not willing to accept that, then I guess they will have to get used to not having me in their life any more.”

“You’d really pick me over your own family?”

“Jaden. You are my family. You are my home. Where you go, I go. From now until the end of my life.”

With that, we spent the rest of the day lounging in the room, not caring about anything other than each other.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I did the same middle name thing for Jaden in this chapter  
Chapter 9  
Jaden POV

I had a whole speech prepared for Jesse, beyond the marriage proposal, in case he really had decided to leave. I was so relieved to find that he thought only of me. 

We spent two days without a care in the world, having decided to stay until Jesse’s flight, the same flight I bought a ticket for later that day over the phone. I had told Jesse the story of when I found out and called Dana. He just laughed and pointed out, yet again, that Dana always knew best.

On the morning of our second to last day in Bergen, Jesse brought up something that I wasn’t sure I was ready to face.

“I was thinking we could go see my parents.” He was nonchalant about it, putting on a shirt. I stopped in the middle of pulling on a shirt to stare at him.

“Jess, I thought we were done with them.”

“Jaden, as much as I want to listen to them tell me what I want, they are still my parents.”

“So we are going to spend the rest of our lives under watch by two people who are not willing to look beyond their own dreams for your future?”

“No. They get one more chance. If they can’t accept this, then I’m walking away.”

I looked at him, looking for any bluff in his resolve, but it stood strong. I couldn’t help but think about the risk Jesse was going to take. This could possibly end with him never talking to his parents again. As much as I wanted Jesse to maintain his family relationship, I didn’t know how much more I could put up with them. 

I walked over to him, taking his hands in mine. “Are you sure, Jesse?”

“Very sure.”

I trusted him. If he thought this was what needed to happen, I would support him. “Okay.”

We took our time getting to Jesse’s parent’s house. We explored the city, Jesse laughing at my constant excitement of the city. Jesse always talked about bringing me here, but I never thought about what it would be like when we actually came here. 

Eventually, Jesse had led us down the street that had the house he grew up in. All the houses on this street were quaint. They reminded me of what most people thought of when they heard “white picket fence.” I admit, I had had a fantasy or two about sweeping Jesse up and carrying him across the threshold of a house like this one. 

That feeling was replaced by anxiety. I was scared what this interaction would result in Jesse losing his family.

I guess I just had to find out for myself.

We stood in front of the door, Jesse posed to knock, but he hesitated. I could feel the doubt radiating off him.

“Jesse,” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “We don’t have to do this. We can-”

“No. It has to be like this. They have to make a choice. Me or their dream.” He took my hand in his, lacing our fingers, to make his point.

He was set in this. 

He finally knocked.

The seconds after were incredibly stressful. I could feel Jesse shaking in my grip. No matter how this went, I would never let go.

The door opened revealing someone I did not recognize. But she recognized Jesse.

“Jesse, oh my God.” She glanced at me, but kept her main focus on Jesse. 

Jesse struggled for word. “A-Ad-Adeline. I was- I wasn’t expecting you.”

Adeline? So this was the girl Jesse’s parents wanted to marry.

“Adeline, who is at the door?”

She stepped to the side and behind her were the two people I didn’t want to see right now. 

They were frozen just like us. The tension was thick in the air, no one daring to move.

Until Jesse’s mother started crying. Through her sobs all I could make out was, “Jesse . . . sorry . . . please . . . .”

Slowly, we walked into the house, wary of them. 

Her husband rubbed her back soothingly and eventually she calmed down to the point where we could actually have a conversation. 

His father did most of the talking. “Jesse, after you left here, we had some time to think, but mostly we were worried about you. We waited for you to come back, but when you didn’t we called Adeline. We thought maybe she knew where you went. But instead of helping us find you, she spent this morning explaining that we couldn’t continue to force our dreams onto you.”

There was pause, and the grip on my hand had only lessened slightly. He was still tense.

His mother stepped in. “She said that our choice was either to keep you as a son as you are, or lose you because we couldn’t let go of what we wanted.”

“You’re an adult now, and maybe that was something that we just couldn’t wrap our heads around. No matter how old you are, you’re still our son. And ultimately we want you to be happy.”

“Adeline made some very good points.” She turned to me this time. “Jaden, we are so sorry for how we treated you. We hope that you can forgive us, too. Now, you are just as important to us as Jesse.”

I could feel a faint smile across my face at the words. I could think of a few things to say, but this wasn’t my family. Not yet anyway. 

The silence was unbearable. His parents had said all they had to, waiting for Jesse to answer.

“Can we have your blessing to get married?” The final test. The answer to this question decided the rest of his relationship with his parents. “Jaden asked me to marry him, even though you wouldn’t give him your blessing.”

They seemed surprised, and I half expected them to go back on everything they just said.

“If this will make you happy, then yes, you have our blessing.” His mother spoke, his father nodding in agreement.

I had no idea who this Adeline was, other than Jesse’s childhood friend, but she had to have said some pretty incredible things to change these two like she did. 

The shaking in Jesse’s hand returned and I saw him start crying. Tears flowed from his face and he looked right at his parents. “Thank you.”

His mother smiled. “No need to thank us.”

Looks like these two were going to be apart of not only Jesse’s future, but mine as well.  
After everything calmed down, I was finally introduced to Adeline. 

“You know, Jesse always said you were cute, but I had no idea just how much so.” My blush must have been the deepest color red. She laughed at the reaction. “Jesse, you did good with this one.”

He laughed too. “Thanks, Adeline. I don’t intend to let him go this time.”

The chatter slowly thinned out to silence. It was comfortable, but none of us knew what to say.

“Thank you Adeline. I don’t know what you said to them exactly, but it did more than twenty-three years of me talking to them.”

“I guess they just needed a voice on the matter they hadn’t considered before.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

She smiled. “So when’s the wedding?” She changed the subject. I think we’d all had enough of this.

“Adeline, we just got engaged. We haven’t even thought about any of the details.”

“Well make sure I get the first invitation.”

“Of course, and make sure you bring your fiance. I want to meet him.”

We talked more about weddings for a while, but eventually it came time for us to leave. We were offered a room there, but we really wanted to go back to our private room in the inn. We picked up Jesse’s luggage, bring it with us, saying goodbye to Jesse’s parents, on good terms.  
We did have to leave soon after that, but not without the promise that we would come back.

When we got home, of course Dana was there, waiting to see what happened. We told her everything, her response being that she knew it had to be a misunderstanding. 

The weeks that followed weren’t too exciting. 

There was one night, the two of us sitting on the couch, having just finished a movie when Jesse excused himself to our bedroom. 

“I’ll be in soon. I have to clean up the kitchen a bit. Give me ten minutes.”

He nodded and went to our room. 

I did as I said I was going to, and ten minutes later, as per my promise, I walked into our bedroom, but what I saw was not at all what I was expecting.

Candles, no more than ten, were the only source of light in the room, and sitting on the edge of the bed was Jesse. It was nothing extravagant, but it didn’t have to be. Jesse was the master of subtlety in this context. Still, I had no idea what he was intending with this.

“Jesse, what’s going on?”

He stood up and walked over to me. “I wanted you to know how much I loved you.”

“Well you didn’t have to do anything special.”

“Of course I did. You are so much more than I ever dreamed. When I was growing up, never once did I imagine meeting someone like you, let alone falling in love with them. I want to fall in love with you more and more everyday. I don’t think I need to say much more, because you already said enough for the both of back in Bergen. But . . .”

He slowly sank to one knee, reaching into his pocket. I was astonished. This was not what I was expecting at all.

“Jaden Desmond Yuki. Will you marry me?”

I smiled so wide that I was sure he would laugh at me, but I kept my resolve.”

“Yes, Jesse. Did you even have to ask?” I offered my left hand, and he placed the ring on my fourth finger. 

He stood up. “Of course I did. I couldn’t let you have all the fun.” We both laughed at that.

I took a moment to appreciate the ring Jesse had given me. It was beautiful. I had no idea when he had gotten it, but that didn’t matter. 

What mattered was the two of us, making a promise that once I would have been terrified to make. But now, here I was, giving my life so easily to the man I trusted and loved more than anything. And he was giving me his.


End file.
